


Diplomatic Relations

by marshie_marshmallow



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: F/F, Pre-Relationship, bc There Is Nothing Wrong With Fjorm She's Fine, diverges slightly from the end of book 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 06:44:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17239361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marshie_marshmallow/pseuds/marshie_marshmallow
Summary: Laevatein knows nothing of peace or ruling, let alone how to interact with others, but the princess of Nifl doesn't seem to mind much.(Nagamas gift for blazing-emblem on tumblr)





	Diplomatic Relations

A warm wind blew across the countryside, as it always was. The idea of anything being less than warm in Múspell was ridiculous.

Laevatein folded her arms on the windowsill and stared out over the lands. Patches of exposed magma, volcanic earth, charred trees... To most people, this place would be totally inhospitable but Muspellians were made of sterner stuff than that. Though the environment had often been known to make growing crops a struggle, the people went about their daily lives as they would anywhere else.

And now she was the queen of it all.

She often wished Laegjarn was there to stand by her side and guide her but that was a ridiculous notion. Were Laegjarn present, she wouldn't have been named queen.

Laegjarn had known something of governance. She didn't and so she would just have to sort things out herself.

“Queen Laevatein?” She turned around to face one of the castle servants, who gave a hasty bow. “The, er, representative from Nifl has arrived.”

There was the other thing. Nifl and Múspell hadn't known peace in living memory and now she was expected to... to work things out with them. Despite having trained her entire life for war, she was to lead them into a time of peace, starting with the official end of the war between the nations.

“... I see. I will be down promptly.”

The servant scurried off and left her alone in the tower. Was she ready for this? All she'd ever known and been trained for was war. Could she lead her kingdom? Could she cast off the reputation of her father, who had been unloved by his own subjects for his warmongering, destructive ways?

_Only one way to find out... I suppose I'll be an improvement over Father regardless of what I do._

* * *

 

She paused outside the doors to the sitting room where the representative was waiting, whoever they may be. She was nervous and it was difficult to hide this time.

_Deep breaths._

“ _What are you so nervous for, Sister?”_ she heard a familiar voice say and she almost turned to find the source before realizing it was in her head. _“You can do this. You're my brilliant, lovely little sister.”_

“Right,” she said aloud. “I can do this...”

Before her nerves could grab hold of her again, she pushed the door open. Inside the room, a familiar face was seated on one of the couches.

“Princess Fjorm,” she said by way of greeting.

The princess stood up hastily. “Princess- Er... Queen Laevatein. It's a pleasure to see you again.”

_Is it?_ She wanted to ask. _The last time we met properly was on a battlefield._ “You're the ambassador, then?”

“Well... yes. I discussed with Hríd and we decided I was the best option to fulfill the role. Is that an issue?”

“... No.” She couldn't care less who Nifl thought was best to send. “... Do you know how this is supposed to happen?”

“You mean... the peace talks?” Fjorm looked sheepish. “I'm not sure... Before now, it had been centuries since Nifl had known war, so we haven't _had_ to negotiate the end of one... I assume you don't know either?”

“It was expected that I would die for the sake of Father's war. I doubt he ever had plans to negotiate peace with anyone, anyway.”

Fjorm pressed her lips into a thin line. “Right then. How hard can this be?”

“Very hard, most likely.”

“Most likely but we have to try, right? We can figure it out together.”

Laevatein nodded. “I suppose. You should rest from your journey first, though.”

Fjorm smiled a little. “That would be nice.”

“I'll have someone escort you to your room and fetch you when dinner is prepared.”

“Thank you.”

“It's just courtesy. You're a guest, after all.”

She smiled wider. “I know. I can still thank you for it.”

“... You're welcome, I suppose. I'll find one of the servants. You stay here.”

“Very well.”

As Laevatein turned on her heel to walk out of the room, the most ridiculous thought passed through her head: that Fjorm's smile was _pretty_. Where in the world did such a notion come from? She had more important things to worry about.

* * *

 

“The food in Múspell is different from Nifl,” Fjorm said, stirring her stew. “Then again I suppose that's to be expected. Very different weather.”

Laevatein quietly nodded, chewing on her bread. It gave her a moment to think of how to respond. No one outside of Laegjarn had ever been interested in making small talk with her, so she was unsure how to act in such a situation. After swallowing, she paused another moment before speaking. “What sort of foods do you eat in Nifl?”

“Well, there are some types of wild berries that grow in the cold. There's meat, of course, but very different from the animals native to Múspell...”

As her companion continued on, Laevatein found herself more and more interested. Even as the conversation moved from food what the people did for entertainment or the various holidays they celebrated, she became only more fascinated.

In all the length of the war with Nifl, never had she been allowed to learn about the country. She wouldn't even have been quite so ready to hear about it, outside of learning about the culture for diplomatic purposes, had Fjorm not been so _excited_ to talk about it.

The ice princess loved her home in a way Laevatein had never loved Múspell. It was admirable. (And adorable – wait what?)

When Fjorm finally drew to a close, the food was gone and the servants had taken away the dishes.

“Oh, I took up the whole conversation,” she said, with a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

“It's alright,” Laevatein said. “I... liked hearing you talk.”

“Well, it's only right that you tell me about Múspell.”

“I'm not sure I could match your enthusiasm. Though... there is one thing I can think of. It would be better to show it rather than talk about it, however.”

“Alright. I'd love to see it... whatever it is.”

Laevatein stood up. “Follow me. It's not far.”

* * *

 

Fjorm's gasp of surprise was all the confirmation she needed that this was a good surprise.

“They're beautiful...”

Laevatein sat down on the sole bench in the little courtyard, which was filled from end to end with brightly colored flowers that all shone with the glow of a fire. “This was Laegjarn's favorite spot. I'm sure... she would have loved to show it to you.”

“It's amazing... I've never seen some of these colors on the flowers in Nifl.”

“... I'm glad you like it. Some of them look like they'd burn if you touched them, but looking like that is all it is.” She reached out to one plant whose branches hung just over the edge of the bench and stroked the petals of the flower, which was red on its edges that faded into an orange center. “Though some of them can be used as components in fire magic, they're harmless on their own.”

“I like them.”

“... I do, too.” She glanced at over at her companion, who was down on one knee to get a better look at the flowers. “I'm afraid I don't have many favorite places here in Múspell, but this garden... It's important to me.”

“I know. I have... a place like that too.”

“How do you mean?”

“Somewhere that was important to Gunnthrá. She had this little... unused room in the castle, out of the way. She set it up with cushions and pillows and she'd hide in there and read. I... don't think any of us have had the heart to go in there yet.”

Laevatein averted her eyes at that, trying to think of a response. She settled on scooting over and patting the empty bench space beside her. Fjorm took the silent invitation and moved to join her.

“... This is difficult,” she said.

“Yes.” There was no point in providing false platitudes. The war would have long-lasting consequences for both nations.

“But... I was this to work out. I want our nations to be allies. I want...” Fjorm looked her in the eye. “I want... for us to be friends.”

Laevatein felt her face heat up and quickly turned to look at the flower again. “I don't... do... friends.”

“How do you mean?”

“... Never had any. Laegjarn was the closest I had and she was my sister.”

A cool hand placed itself on top of her very warm one. “Doesn't mean I can't be your first real friend, does it?”

“Why... do you care so much about us being friends.”

“I think you need one.”

“I don't need pity.”

Fjorm shook her head. “No... I just think... you hide so much of yourself. Having someone else to draw it out of you is... good for you. Besides... I've enjoyed our conversation up to now.”

Laevatein turned to look back at her. “... I'll consider it.”

She smiled and it felt like being blinded by the sun. “Good.” She stood up and took both of Laevatein's hands in her own, pulling her off the bench. “Now tell me which of these flowers is your absolute favorite.”

Laevatein stammered something like “Your hands are cold.” as her mind went blank. Which was a really stupid thing to say, since she knew intellectually that Fjorm had a much lower body temperature but she couldn't _think_.

“I like...” Her gaze was drawn to a blue one. “That one,” she said, pointing.

“I rather like the pink one next to it.”

“... They're both nice.”

“So they are. Now... I have a lot of other questions for you.”

“... Aren't you here for diplomatic purposes?”

“I'll be here all week. Time enough for diplomacy tomorrow. I want to get know _you_.”

Laevatein couldn't help but give a small smile. “... Okay.” Then, before she could stop herself- “I think I want to get to know you too.”

“Well then... Ask me anything.”

And as they stayed in that courtyard, long after the sun had gone down and the moon had risen, chatting about whatever came to mind, Laevatein could feel herself growing warm in a way that had nothing to do with her fire dragon's blood.

The duties of being queen and guiding her people to better times still sat heavy on her shoulders but the burden felt a bit lighter that night than it had before. Maybe things would work out after all.

 


End file.
